Saudi Arabia is sponsoring 75 Ugandan students so they can complete their higher education.

The Kingdom is covering all their expenses including tuition fees, lodging and air travel as part of its partnership with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) higher education initiative for Uganda.

Aziz Kalungi Kasujja, Ugandan ambassador, said: “These students are currently on the rolls of various universities and academic institutions across the Kingdom. We are now keen to hold consultations with the Saudi side to boost cooperation in education and increase the number of sponsored students."

The move will help fulfill the educational requirements of Ugandan students and enable educational institutions in the country to upgrade the quality of their education.

Kasujja, who gave an overview of progressively growing relations between Riyadh and Kampala in an interview, discussed the successful visit of Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, deputy minister of foreign affairs, to Uganda last week. Prince Abdulaziz was received by Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi during the visit.

The envoy also commended Saudi support extended to Uganda in the fields of infrastructure development, health and education.

To this end, he noted the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has made available SR 90 million to Uganda for implementing two major projects.

The projects include the construction and equipment of a technical and vocational training institute at a cost of SR 45 million. The remaining funds were used for a major rural electrification project in the country, said Kasujja, pointing to several other such projects financed by Riyadh in many other African countries.

He said relations between the two countries have been built on mutual trust and cooperation.